6th Grade - Biographical Reports
1st Place - Liam Z.
Hammurabi
Hammurabi was a well-known ruler of ancient Babylon, a city-state located in the larger area known as Mesopotamia. He became king in the year 1792 B.C. after the death of his father. Hammurabi accomplished many great things as ruler of Babylon. His most famous accomplishments were uniting the other city-states in the area into one empire, and creating a law code, which helped him establish order. Hammurabi's greatest impact on the world today is this law code because it still influences the way we live. Hammurabi's law code is what made the empire of Mesopotamia and all later empires possible because it helped to maintain order.
Hammurabi was born in 1810 B.C. in Babylon. His father, Sinnmuballit, was the king of Babylon. Little is known about his childhood, however Bryant, in her dramatized biography based on archaeological evidence, says that Hammurabi spent the first twenty years of his life studying hard and preparing to be king. (Bryant pg. 8) When his father died in 1792 B.C., Hammurabi became the sixth king of Babylon. He is part of what is known as the first dynasty of kings in Babylon, and according to Van de Mieroop he is also the most famous member of that group. (Vande Mieroop pg.1) Hammurabi died in 1750 B.C. and was succeeded by his son Samsu-llona. After his death, no other ruler was able to hold together the united city-states of Mesopatamia.
Hammurabi is most remembered for his law code. The law code was written on a stele, which is a pillar with writing or a sculpture on it. The stele shows Hammurabi receiving the code from the god of law, Shamash. However, archaeological evidence says that he based his law code on older Sumerian and Akkadian laws. Many of his laws seem unfair compared to our laws today because they usually take the side of rich people over poor people. These quotes from Hammurabi himself, taken from a stele, give an example of this, "If a member of the elite blinds the eye of another member of the elite, they shall blind his eye, but if a member of the elite blinds the eye of a commoner or breaks the bone of a commoner, he shall pay one pound of silver," (Van de Mieroop pg.l 05).
Hammurabi created the law code so that it would be easier to govern the surrounding cities he was conquering. His idea was to conquer all of the surrounding cities and unite Mesopatamia. After he conquered a city-state, he would allow the rulers of that place to still rule using his law code. His main goal was to control the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, because Mesopatamia was in between them.
Hammurabi has had a major long-term impact on the world. By uniting Mesopatamia, Hammurabi set an example for other small cities or societies to form large empires. Today we have countries like the United States that are made up of many smaller states, but are united like Mesopatamia under one code of law. Even though after Hammurabi's death Mesopotamia was not united, the idea of uniting smaller cities into larger empires lived on. However, if it had not been for the law code then large empires would have been impossible.
Another way that Hammurabi made a long-term impact on the world was with his law code. Hammurabi's laws covered issues that we still have in laws today, such as theft and robbery, real estate, financial arrangements, and family. Even though other places had laws, this was the first evidence of a written code. When people knew what the punishment for a crime was, it discouraged them from committing that crime. It would be difficult to have a peaceful country today without people knowing what the laws are and how to act.
Hammurabi, the sixth and most famous king of the first dynasty of Babylon is a very important historical figure. His accomplishments of turning a group of small city-states into an empire, and his creation of a law code had a long-term impact on the world. Hammurabi showed that an empire is more powerful than a group of city-states, and today there are examples of this all over the world. His law code gave the world an example of how a society should operate, and how people should act towards one another. Even though Hammurabi was only able to unite the empire because he had conquered it, he is remembered today as a ruler who wanted people to obey his laws because they were fair, and not because they were afraid of him.
